Wolverhampton council local election preview: City set to stay red

Twenty-two seats on Wolverhampton council are up for grabs when voters in the city head to the polls next week.

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Wolverhampton council

The elections on May 3 are expected to throw up few surprises, with the city having been a Labour stronghold for all but three of the last 24 years.

The party will be hoping to continue its dominance this time around.

There will be two seats in Graiseley as a result of the death of much-loved former Labour councillor and mayor Elias Mattu.

His wife Asha Mattu will contest the seat he held for 18 years.

Two seats are also available in Oxley, where Ian Claymore is standing down.

The winning candidate in each of those wards will get the four-year term seat, while the candidate that finishes second in each ward will serve 12 months.

Labour dominant

Under the leadership of councillor Roger Lawrence, Labour currently holds 49 seats to the Conservatives 10.

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UKIP holds one, although its councillor, Malcolm Gwinnett, is stepping down from his Spring Vale seat at this election having been first elected to the authority in 1990.

The 65-year-old former mayor, who came back to the council after having a heart transplant, defected to UKIP from the Lib Dems and has since retain his seat twice. He is one of a number of long-standing councillors to retire this year.

The others include Labour group finance chief Andrew Johnson, who is stepping down in Ettingshall, Blakenhall councillor Judith Rowley, Oxley councillor Julie Hodgkiss and Mr Claymore.